Author: Dr. Leslie McGeough

We’ve all heard the line “Do one thing every day that scares you,” or we’ve read it on a Lululemon product bag. But why would we want to do something every day that scares us? Petting an angry dog scares me, so why would I want to do it? Sounds pretty negative to me and not very motivating.

I believe in the benefits of expanding our worldview and understanding of our selves, so I like to do something every day that stretches me.  I recognize that great success and happiness are only possible when we’re willing to take a little risk. Stretching ourselves outside of our comfort zone is a conscious activity that calls for courage and vigilance. And sometimes the only way we can find that strength is to take it one step at a time.

Try to remember the last time you resisted, avoided or delayed doing an activity that made you feel uneasy or uncomfortable. What made you feel uncomfortable?

Now spend some time visualizing yourself actually doing whatever it was that you resisted, avoided or delayed. Create a vivid picture of yourself being fearless throughout the activity. You’ve done this 100 times before; it’s completely comfortable. Doing one thing every day that stretches us means that we’re going to learn something, and have a deeper appreciation of our true selves and abilities. And for an entrepreneur, this can only mean a more rewarding and enriching small business experience.

After two years of 20-hour days in start-up, I honestly believe that starting and running a successful company is a linked series of tests – almost daily tests of personal ability, skill, agility, determination, worthiness and limits. Theory is for the classroom. The real tests begin outside of the classroom.

Every day, entrepreneurs are faced with circumstances so unique to them that new or novel strategies, tactics or actions have to be developed to deal with them. Business schools teach theory that mostly apply to big companies – companies with the benefit of resources, people and support. In small business, theory does not help us create unique solutions to problems we hadn’t planned on. Instead, our survival depends on the entrepreneur’s ability to respond to new information and to execute correctly.

For some, facing new challenges every day is the joy of running a business. For others, it is simply too overwhelming and one of the factors associated with the high rate of business closure.

I get up every morning knowing that something somewhere will challenge me, make me stretch, make me work harder that day. I also know that the more tests we pass, the more incremental successes we have, and the more confident we become in our abilities and skills as entrepreneurs. This is the beauty of experience. Relish in your success every day knowing you’ve just passed another real-life test of being an entrepreneur.